Endorsement Application

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Political Candidate Endorsements by Metro DC DSA

The Metro DC DSA chapter endorses candidates for political office. In the past, our chapter members have supported endorsed candidates by volunteering as door-to-door canvassers, poll workers on Election Day, and logistic coordinators. Please visit our chapter structure and campaigns page to learn how to get involved.

The endorsement process for each electoral cycle begins November 15 of the year before elections in which the chapter endorsements are taking place. The chapter’s Endorsements Committee will process all endorsement requests regardless of the number of electoral campaigns the chapter has already endorsed and timeline into the election cycle.

How to Apply for an Endorsement

Candidates who wish to apply for a 2019 endorsement must submit our chapter’s Standard Electoral Candidate Questionnaire for Virginia candidates, using this form. Candidates may download or create a copy of the full text of the standard questionnaire if they would like to draft or revise their responses prior to completing and submitting the form.

Endorsement Process

Submitting a questionnaire serves as formal application for Metro DC DSA’s endorsement, starting the candidate endorsement process. The Endorsements Committee will publish each candidate’s questionnaire to the chapter’s general body within one week of submission. All candidate responses, except those including personal contact information, will be made publicly available on this website.

A formal resolution to endorse must then be moved at a subsequent general body meeting in compliance with chapter bylaws. The body will have an opportunity — typically roughly 30 days — to consider and debate the resolution before the end of the voting period of the next scheduled general body meeting.

During this time, any member, campaign-based working group, caucus, or branch, in coordination with the Endorsements Committee, may request that a candidate participate in additional vetting, including through a race-specific questionnaire, conference call interview, and/or in-person meeting. Conference calls and meet-and-greets typically take the form of a question-and-answer format.

2019 Key Dates

Based on the process described above, our chapter will be observing the following timelines for endorsement during the 2019 campaign cycle. For candidates who submit questionnaires by 5:00PM Eastern Time on:

January 11, 2019: Chapter votes to endorse no later than February 13. Candidate notified of endorsement results on February 14.

February 8, 2019: Vote by March 20. Notification by March 21.

March 15, 2019: Vote by April 17. Notification by April 18.

April 12, 2019: Vote by May 22. Notification by May 23.

May 17, 2019: Vote by June 12. Notification by June 13.

June 7, 2019: Vote by July 17. Notification by July 18.

July 12, 2019: Vote by August 14. Notification by August 15.

August 9, 2019: Vote by September 11. Notification by September 12.

September 6, 2019: Vote by October 16. Notification by October 17.

If a candidate misses the questionnaire submission deadline, then the candidate’s endorsement process will move to the next month. For instance, if a candidate misses the endorsement deadline on February 8, 2019, then the candidate’s new questionnaire deadline will be March 15, 2019, with an endorsement vote completed by April 17.